Leaving Shadows
by Azhaeda
Summary: 'One thing stuck out with perfect clarity though- the Doomknight armor. And that man, the one who had forced her into it. Then there was the burning; it had threatened to consume her whole. As it was, it had taken most of both her sanity and memory. Now she was left a shadow of the hero she'd once been.' Rated M 'cause you can never be too paranoid. XD


"Rose . . . H-how could you do that?! Rolith, he . . . he was your friend!" the voice choked, cracking at the end with a sob. Rose-no, the creature that was pretending to be Rose- turned and stared intently at Artix. He was pale, so very pale, and tears threatened to spill out of his chestnut-colored eyes.

"Friend?" The Rose-creature asked, cocking its head to the side.

It released its hold on Rolith's exposed and bloody spine. His corpse dropped to the ground with a thud, making everyone wince. Except Rose. She walked forward, taking slow and deliberate steps forward until she stood just a foot shy of Artix.

"Tell me . . . were you my friend as well?" Artix's eyes widened in surprise, then squinted in fear. On the other side of the room, Valencia let out a gasping sob. Rose's head snapped around in an inhuman gesture. Her eyes narrowed in on Valencia's shaking form.

She stalked a pace forward, but was stopped by a hand gripping her arm. It was Cysero, his happy-go-lucky face unnaturally solemn. Rose continued to stare hungrily at Valencia, and strained against the mad weapon smith's hold.

"Rose. Rose, you need to stop this. Rose, you need to stop!" Cysero yelled, anger and pain running rampant in his voice. Suddenly, the former hero whirled around, implanting her hand deep within his stomach. He gasped, then coughed, feeling the blood rush up his throat from the wound. The dark red liquid splashed onto Rose's arm, then dripped down to the ground. There it remained, glittering in the flickering light cast by one of Warlic's spells.

It had been brighter before, before they had all come upon Rose's still form- she'd been admiring the moon, the way it was so distant, but so bright.

Rose stilled as she recalled the past events of the night. Her mind could pick up bits and pieces, but most of her memory was shrouded in dark shadows. One thing stuck out with perfect clarity though- the Doomknight armor. And _**that man**_, the one who had forced her into it. Then there was the burning; it had threatened to consume her whole. As it was, it had taken most of both her sanity and memory.

Now she was left a shadow of the hero she'd once been.

"Friend," Rose growled, eyes narrowing in fury. "friend. Yes, that's the word **_he_**used. When **_he_**showed me the armor of a Doomknight." Now she tilted her head to stare at Artix. Pain and rage flashed across her pale features as she continued in a sing-song voice, drawing gasps at her animalistic snarl.

"And. Then. **_He_**. Pushed. Me. In."

Rose's hands clenched involuntary at the memory, causing Cysero to hiss in pain. Oh, yes. Rose glanced at the man. She had forgotten that one of her hands was still in his abdomen. She withdrew it, watching with interest as Cysero collapsed to the blood-soaked ground.

"So delicate. . ." she murmured thoughtfully to herself. "I could crush all of you without even trying." To prove her point, she slammed her foot upon the downed man's side, hearing bones creak and shortly after crack. Yes. These people, they were so very fragile.

Rose huffed, suddenly angered. These people gathered around her- her so-called friends- they presented no challenge. Not like **_him._** **_He _**would give challenge, make her feel the thrill of battle again. **_Him_**- the one who had stuffed her, kicking and screaming bloody murder, into that damned armor. She would find _**him**_. _**He **_would be her opponent, willing or not.

Completely forgetting her former friends, she turned to leave. Her mind was set. She would feel the excitement that fighting brought her- the thought itself managed to pull her lips up in a feral grin, just short of a snarl.

Everyone around Rose was quiet, watching her disappear into the trees but saying nothing.

Tomix's quivering knees suddenly gave out, and he fell onto them. Rose had been his first and only pupil. They had fought and trained together for years, as he taught her the art of Soulweaving.

Robina could only stand, rooted to the spot, tears running silent tracks down her face. Through blurry vision she gazed around at everyone else.

Rolith's mangled body lay in the middle of the clearing. Artix was hunched over it, his shoulders shaking.

Cysero lay a few feet away, gasping for breath. Warlic was trying to staunch the flow of blood that managed to push its way out and onto the dirt ground. Valencia shook out of her shocked stupor and rushed over to help the blue mage.

On the far side of the clearing Twilly was crying uncontrollably, soft wails making their way into the air. Beside him sat Aegis, staring straight ahead at nothing. Galanoth was crouched in front of them, trying to quiet the grieving moglin and get a reaction out of the shell-shocked Soul Ally.

Finally, he too fell into despairing silence.

_It's strange, _Robina thought hollowly to herself, _how one woman could fill us with hope so quickly, then unwittingly rip it out of our chests and instead leave this dark emptiness._

* * *

So, this is my first published story. Love it, Hate it?

Reviews would be nice, I suppose- I'm not gonna worry that much about reviews, but if any are left, please tell me how I did. I want to know how well y'alls think I write.

Buh-bye~


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